Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: Latin contagio, from contingere; CONTINGENT1

contagion

 noun
     
Related topics: Illness and Disability
con‧ta‧gion
1MI [uncountable] technical a situation in which a disease is spread by people touching each other:
There is some danger of contagion.
2MI [countable] technical a disease that can be passed from person to person by touch
3 [singular] formal a feeling or attitude that spreads quickly between people or places:
a contagion of fear spread from city to city
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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